This study was prompted by the targets set out in the Dutch government’s plastics transition agenda, the aim of which is to reduce the resource consumption and environmental footprint associated with plastics use in the Netherlands. To secure these targets will require a substantial uptick in plastics recycling (not only packaging) and growth in the percentage of biobased plastics to 15% of the volume of plastics marketed in 2030 (370 kt/a), which would lead to around 500 kt CO2 emissions reduction.
In this study biobased plastics are taken to mean plastics made from biological raw materials. These may be new biobased polymers likes PLA, PEF and starch or existing polymers produced in part or entirely from biological materials, such as bio-PE and bio-PET. The study also takes in biobased plastics with part-biobased inputs and those with robust mass balance credentials.